Codename Angel of Death
by AngelBloodLust
Summary: Set before the first movie. When Duke and Ripcord are sent to transport the warheads, they aren't alone, Gabriella (Angel) Grimm joins them on the mission. Angel becomes very important to the team and some of the Joes will just have to learn to deal with her secrets and prickly personality. Will Snake Eyes be up for the challenge or will her attitude turn the ninja away. SE/OFC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing G.I. Joe belongs to whomever it does, I'm just playing around with some of the characters.

AN: Since I can't find any mention of ranks for Duke and Ripcord I'm pretty much going with what I can find, and since some of the ranks I could find are pretty long I'm going with abbreviations. Hope that makes since.

Summary: Set before the first movie. When Duke and Ripcord are sent to transport the warheads, they aren't alone, Gabriella (Angel) Grimm joins them on the mission. Angel becomes very important to the team and some of the Joes will just have to learn to deal with her secrets and prickly personality. Will Snake Eyes be up for the challenge or will her attitude turn the ninja away. SE/OFC.

_*sign language*_

Ch 1

Duke and his partner Ripcord were pacing the halls outside of the briefing room waiting for final orders for their mission. Babysitting some very dangerous warheads, not that they were complaining but both of them were itching for a fight. Duke pulled a worn, dirty and frayed picture from his BDU pocket, the picture was fading from running his fingers over it but this had become his pre-battle ritual. Ripcord stopped himself from snorting as he watched Duke, it had been over four years since that picture had been taken and almost as long since the person in it had abandoned him. Duke's one and only real weak spot, Ana.

Both of them jumped to attention when the doors in front of them opened and their commanding officer emerged followed by another soldier already dressed like them, in full BDUs, full gear and armed. Standing behind their commanding officer an angel, blond hair in a savvier bun was scraped back from her heart shape face and large aqua eyes were filled with fire. Duke couldn't help but notice that her uniform didn't disguise her figure which was all curves and muscles. Their commanding officer snapped them out of their daze and addressed the situation.

"Duke, Ripcord. Orders have changed at the last minute and now you will be traveling with Sgt. Gabriella Grimm." Both of them nodded to the Sgt. "Sgt. Grimm is an expert marksman and is a trained medic. Higher ups figured you could use that just in case. Now all of you head out."

The three of them snapped out salutes and rushed out the doors to the trucks that they would be using to get the warheads to the drop. Duke and Ripcord let Grimm on the truck first and hopped into and yelled at the other drivers to go. Duke sat in the passenger seat and watched as the first two trucks got out before giving his driver the order to head out. Rip watched out the back for the other trucks to follow them out of the yard.

Once everyone was clear and the birds were watching from overhead the two of them sat back and relaxed. This trip was going to take hours and they hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, planning had taken a while and neither of them had even seen their beds before 0300. Duke watched the newest member of his team, he still couldn't figure out the reason that she was added to his detail, sure a medic was always a good thing to have but almost everyone had basic medical training. Looking across the hummer he watched her through his half closed eyes.

Gabriella Grimm could feel eyes on her and huffed, typical even in today's military men just couldn't understand how a woman could be a valued member of the team. Especially if said woman was attractive, and even though she wasn't being vain she knew just how attractive she was. Trying to ignore the stare and just get ready for whatever might come Gabriella pulled out her medic bag and checked it for supplies, even though she had done it earlier. Finally she just got fed up with the staring from the two men she pulled out her rifle and started to check it over.

Rip was man enough to admit that the way she broke down the rifle and checked it was a little unnerving. Even he knew that it took a special kind of talent to break it down, check it over and put it back together in a bouncing vehicle. Casting his gaze over to Duke he raised an eyebrow, Duke raised his in return both of them amazed at her skill and both of them just a little fearful of getting on her bad side. Neither of them wanted to take the chance of offending her, so they remained quiet.

"Okay, this is just getting annoying." Both of the men looked up at her husky voice. It was the first time either of them had heard her speak, it sounded like rough silk.

"Sorry is there something wrong?" Duke braved to ask.

"The silence and the not so subtle glances" Gabriella smirked at the sweat drops on their faces.

"Sorry we didn't mean to offend you." Ripcord glanced at her and was shocked by her open smile.

"I'm more offend by the complete silence than anything else," looking at them she raised an eyebrow "talking doesn't bother me and since we don't know what might happen I think it would be better if we got to know each other better. Ya' know just in case I have to fix one of you up or something. Call me Gabriella, by the way."

Duke and Rip shared a look and both of them let out a breath. Gabriella chuckled and waited for them to finish their silent conversation. She could tell just by the way that they acted that the two of them had been together for years and stuck close even when they went home. These two had a real friendship and that was something that she had never really known. A military brat her whole life and had never had the chance to make any real relationships. Looking at the two she knew that they had figured out what they were going to do sitting back against the truck she waited for the normal questions to start. Gabriella was pleasantly surprised, these two were not like most of the guys she got shipped out with.

"What's your favorite book?" Duke asked watching Grimm's face and smirking at the surprise written across it. "Not what you were expecting huh?"

"Honestly no, the last team I got stationed with were predictable in their lines of questions." Gabriella smirked and winked at Duke. "To answer your first question though my favorite book of all time is Charlotte's Web."

Gabriella closed her eyes and smiled as she remembered the last time that she had read the book. She had sat with her mother and read it to her as she fought to survive the cancer that had quickly consumed her. She had stayed by her mother's side for a month as she fought and laughed at the stupid jokes until she had died quietly in her sleep with a smile on her face, leaving her and orphan. Opening her eyes she looked to see the guys expressions, chuckling under her breath she looked down at her watch and sighed.

"That's an odd choice but so is mine." Ripcord spoke up, Gabriella waved her hand telling him to enlighten her. "Peter Pan and Wendy."

"That makes so much since." Duke exclaimed laughing at the expression on Gabriella's face. "Rip has the personality of a child and an absolute love for flying."

Gabriella nodded her head and chuckled along with them. Rip moved to the front of the truck and looked at the data sheet with all of their stops, while still continuing on with conversation. It ranged from music to movies and just about everything in between. They were laughing and to an outsider it would seem that they had known each other for years not hours. Rip moved back from the front and looked at Duke.

"Hey when were we supposed to rendezvous?" Rip asked.

"Thirty clicks." Duke looked at his partner. "Why?"

"Well we just passed thirty-one clicks and no back up."

Duke ran to the front of the truck and yelled at all of the trucks. Gabriella looked over at Rip and grabbed her gun. Even she knew that that was a bad sign. Just as they moved to the front they all heard it. A sudden blast of light flashed in the night and suddenly one of the trucks up ahead flipped up into the air and crashed into the truck behind it. Gabriella grabbed the case and braced herself for the next inevitable shot. She didn't have long to wait. The hummer rocked back onto its side and loose equipment flew, a crowbar smashed into Gabriella's chest hearing a cracking noise she knew that at least one of her ribs was broken, darkness consumed her.

Within seconds she could hear gunshots and a weird pulsing sound in the dark. Gabriella felt the earth shake and scrambled out of the hummer the case still in her hand. Looking out into the darkness she saw Duke and Ripcord firing at some metal headed guys. Locking the case across her back in a special pocket of her pack she grabbed her rifle and fired. The sound of it made both of the men she was with look up at her and smile. Rushing as fast as her ribs would let her she made it to the trees nearest Duke.

"Next time grab the package before you run out of the hummer." Gabriella ordered as she caught her breath. "And make sure that everyone is out of the transport."

"Sorry, I didn't think I just jumped out and started firing." Duke looked ashamed as her shot another of the metal heads. "We seem to be the only ones left alive."

Gabriella looked over a Ripcord and nodded. This wasn't good there were way to many tangos for them to kill and with the trucks destroyed, no way to get back up. Grabbing her rifle Gabriella braced herself against the tree and fired at something walking toward them. Normally the recoil from her rifle didn't faze her but with a couple of broken ribs it was knocking the breath out of her to fire.

"You okay," Duke asked her as he watched her wince and gasp after firing.

"Yeah just got the wind kicked out of me."

"What happened?"

"Big ass wrench cracked a couple of ribs," Gabriella wheezed "but I'm good."

"Damn it." Duke yelled and looked around there was no way he could wrap her ribs and engage the tangos. "Where are the cases?"

"On me. Don't worry about it."

"Rip!" He called into his head phones. "Ripcord answer me."

"What's up Duke." Both of them heard from their left.

"Gab's got broken ribs and the case." Duke looked at Gabriella and nodded. "We have to keep her safe."

"Copy that." Ripcord replied while shooting at a group of metal heads.

For the next ten minutes there was nothing to say but shoot at the enemy. Gabriella was slowly cracking more ribs with the recoil of her rifle and knew that it was only a matter of time before she passed out. Duke and Rip were running out of ammo since their extra was now on the fireball of the hummer. Gabriella looked up at the sky when she heard a strange noise. Swearing she relayed what she was seeing.

"Duke, Rip we got more incoming." She smirked at their answering cusses.

A new bird was hanging over the burning woods and Gabriella could just make out some figures repelling from it. 'Great' she thought as she checked her ammo supply and swore she was on her last clip, not good. Looking around her she watched as some of the metal heads started to fall. Maybe these guys were reinforcements, if that was the case great they needed them, looking for her team she grinned at Rip. Where's Duke? She looked where she had last seen him and he wasn't there. Looking around for him she saw him chasing someone and sighed.

"Ripcord," Gabriella waited to be acknowledged. "Duke's chasing a tango and I lost my eyes on him and I'm out."

"Damn it," Ripcord yelled on his way over to her side. "I'm on my way to you, hang tight."

"Kay."

Gabriella watched for Ripcord and tried to stay out of sight of the metal heads. She had other weapons that didn't need ammo to fire but with the case on her she didn't want to engage them. Crouching behind her tree she pulled her sais from her boots and dropped her pack so she wouldn't be over burdened. Standing back up she put her side arm back in her holster and stood in front of the pack.

Watching for Rip in the flames to her right she didn't notice the metal head coming from her left and the only warning she got was a thud. Looking to where the sound had come from she saw an arrow sticking out of the metal head. turning around she saw a woman with bright red hair in all black. Crap, she didn't know if this was back up or could it be just another enemy coming for the warheads. Crouching in a defensive position she waited for the woman to make it to her.

"Stand down soldier." The red head ordered.

"Not going to happen red."

Gabriella spun her sais in her hands, one blade forward and the other across her arm. The red headed woman moved closer and aimed her bow at Gabriella. Both women looked around and saw that there was still a lot of gunfire going on around them but the both of them had their own battle to deal with. Red and Gabriella faced off and waited to see who would make the first move.

"Soldier this is your final warning stand down."

"Again that isn't going to happen." Gabriella smirked. "So bring it red."

"Oh it's on."

The two of them started to circle each other, trying to find the others weakness. Gabriella twirled her sais around and shifted her weight away from her cracked ribs. Red grabbed her crossbow and aimed it at Gabriella but before either one of them could attack they heard their teammates yelling at them. Both of their heads turned towards them.

"Duke what's up?" Gabriella stood to her full five foot eight height and kept Red in her line of sight just in case. "Who are these people?"

"Grimm these people are going to take us to a secure location to await our new orders." Gabriella nodded. "Do you still have the case?"

"Yeah it's in my pack," Gabriella moved in front of said pack. "And it's not going anywhere without me, so back off Red."

Duke and Ripcord whistled at that threat to one of the Joes, both of them had talked to Gen. Hawk and it had been decided that Duke's team was primary with the case. Gabriella and Scarlett both glared at one another before lowering their weapons. Both of them knew that this fight between them was far from over. Duke walked up to Gabriella and grabbed her pack with the case and damn near got stabbed by her sais.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella growled at Duke, who jumped back out of her reach.

"Your ribs are cracked and I was going to carry the pack for you." Duke explained.

"No I'm going to carry it, my ribs are fine." Gabriella stuck her sais in her belt and hefted the now eighty pound pack and her rifle onto her back. "Let's go. I'm not letting this thing out of my sight until we're secure."

Gabriella turned to look around her to make sure that she had everything and finally saw the black clad ninja. Something about him tugged at her memory but with her ribs aching she brushed it off and trek to their ride. Duke and Ripcord got on both sides of Gabriella and pestered her with questions. Gabriella ignored them and focused on not passing out on the way to the plane. She watched the interaction between these G.I. Joes, who the hell came up with that name, as she listened to Rip and Duke apologize for leaving her alone.

"Guys it's alright. Rip you had to take out the enemy but Duke if you ever leave me alone to chase after a girl I'm going to make you an eunuch."

Gabriella shot Duke an evil smirk. All the men cringed, even the silent ninja, and took a large step away from her. Scarlett laughed along with Gabriella at the men's expressions and took a seat. Everyone started sitting down and accessing their injuries, Ripcords leg needed a bandage. Gabriella dropped into a seat and instantly cursed, setting down her pack she rummaged through it and pulled out a large ace bandage roll and a tube of cream. Standing up she took off her BDU jacket and regulation shirt. Whistles and groans filled the cabin when her dark purple bruises were exposed to everyone.

"Damn girl, how did you not pass out?" A British voice called out and everyone nodded. "I'm Heavy Duty and that's Breaker." He said pointing at a little guy covered in equipment.

"Pure stubbornness." Gabriella replies as she felt her ribs to see just how many were broken. "That's a new record for me."

"What?" Scarlett asked as she walked over to her. Gabriella looked at her and smiled.

"I've got four broken ribs and at least two are cracked."

"Do you need help wrapping those?" Scarlett asked as Snake Eyes moved closer to Gabriella. "Snake Eyes is our medic."

"I wouldn't mind the help." Gabriella replied while tucking her dog tags into her blue sports bra and smearing numbing jell into the bruises.

Snake Eyes moved in nodding his head and grabbed the rolled up bandage. Gabriella used her bra to brace the end of the bandage and raised her arms to give Snake room to wrap her ribs. She could fell his gloved fingers on her exposed skin and barely resisted shuddering at the feeling. Snake Eyes smirked under his mask when he felt her shiver, glad that his mask hid it, he knew she would deck him if she saw it.

Everyone else watched the two of them for a moment and then started their own conversations. Once Snake was finished wrapping her ribs he helped Gabriella back into her shirt and jacket. Gabriella signed her thanks and carefully sat down, Snake Eyes was surprised that she knew sign language and signed back a question. Scarlett watched the two of them communicate and was shocked, not many people knew how to sign.

_You know sign language?_ Snake Eyes asked.

_Very Little. _Gabriella replied. _Basic words and the alphabet._

Was the last thing that she said before the pain medication knocked her out for the rest of their flight. Snake watched her eye lids dance as she dreamed and was glad that his mask hid his blush and smile. Leaning back in his seat he silently chuckled, he couldn't wait to see what other surprises Gabriella was hiding.


	2. Chapter 2

C.N.: Angel of Death

Ch2

It was pretty quiet on the jet, mostly whispered conversations and Scarlett flipping pages in a book. Then there was Snake Eyes, to most it looked like he was meditating or asleep, instead he was watching Gabriella mutter and fidget as she slept. Snake Eyes would never admit it but he was drawn to the soldier, there was just something about her that pulled him in. He'd barely talked to her but the soft expression in her face and the way she held herself, drew him like a moth to flame.

Snake watched Gabriella and the minute expressions that crossed her face. Slight uplift of the corner of her mouth and the three creases between her eyebrows as she frowned. Hours passed as he watched her silently, some of the others had nodded off as well, Snake matched his breathe to hers and let himself relaxed. Snake felt with the jet started to make it's decent and looked at Gabriella to see her reaction, he could tell that she had woken up.

Gabriella felt the pressure in the cabin change and came to full alert. Slitting her eyes she looked around as she waited to see what was going on. Snake Eyes was sitting across from her, Ripcord, Duke and Scarlett were sitting around her. Heavy Duty and Breaker were closer to the pilot cabin. Keeping up the appearance that she was asleep she studied each of them. Gabriella struggled to hide the smirk on her face when Rip said he was going to wake her up.

Snake knew that something was up with Gabriella, he knew that she had been awake since they started dropping but she didn't move or open her eyes. When he heard Ripcord he smiled behind his mask. Now he knew what she was up to, scaring the crap out of Ripcord or anyone that came near her. Leaning back a little in his seat Snake waited and watched. Ripcord made a serious mistake, never walk up and try to touch someone with training without announcing yourself.

The moment Rip reached out to shake Gabriella's shoulder her eyes snapped open and one of her sais was pressed against his throat, even Snake Eyes would admit that he never saw her hand move for the weapon.

"You even swallow and you will slice your own throat." Gabriella growled out and everyone turned to watch her. "Mistake one, never try to touch me in my sleep. Number two, never and I mean never try to sneak up on me without saying something. Got that Ripcord?"

"Got it Gabriella!" Ripcord whispered afraid to speak for fear of the blade pressed against him. "I was just getting you up since we're about to land."

"Thank you but I woke up when we started to descend." Gabriella spun the sai away from Ripcord and sheathed it in her boot. "Sorry about that but I figured once bitten twice shy. Now all of you know don't walk up to me or touch me in my sleep, just say my name or something."

Gabriella watched as everyone nodded and smirked at them. Standing up she stretched as much as she could with her broken ribs, sleeping had stiffened her muscles causing them to ache. Gabriella looked over at Snake Eyes, she had felt his eyes on her the whole trip. Nodding at him she sat back down to wait from them to land.

Soon enough they landed and everyone started to pile out, Gabriella, Duke and Ripcord were the last to disembark. Gabriella saw the Joes saluting someone, curious she walked carefully to the back of the group. Duke and Ripcord followed suit and saluted the man. Gabriella watched as Duke and Ripcord yelled about the mission and the warheads. Gabriella finally got fed up and interrupted the argument.

"Sir, I don't care what you think, these warheads are staying in my custody until we complete the mission."

Gabriella stood strait and held the man's gaze, not being intimidated, even by a General. Gabriella heard everyone in the group hiss and didn't even care, she and her team had lost to much to give up. Gabriella stared down the Gen. as he made his way to her.

"And just who are you to give me orders?"

"Sgt. Gabriella Grimm." She answered while saluting the Gen. Even in her anger she knew that she still needed to follow her training. "Field medic and marksman. Now I'm also the one with the warheads and I'm not giving them up."

Gabriella kept the salute and staring contest going on even as she watched a blond woman hand the Gen. a file. The Gen. read through it quickly and smirked.

"At ease Sgt. Grimm, according to this we've also tried to recruit you and you turned us down." Gabriella dropped the salute and breathed a sigh of relief, the broken ribs were mostly on the right and saluting had almost made her pass out. "Advance martial arts in multiple weapons and hand to hand, expert marksman, medic and fluent in six languages."

Gabriella felt a smirk pull her lips when the others gasped, yeah, that happened a lot when people read her file. Looking at the faces around her the smirk grew as she tried to repress a laugh. Even Scarlett was slack jawed at the list of things she could do. Nodding Gabriella waited to see what else the Gen. would say.

"As much fun as it is to argue with you all we need you to hand over those warheads." Gen. Hawk ordered. "Your part of the mission is over now the Joes are in charge."

"With all due respect sir," Duke quickly objected. "Our mission isn't over until these warheads reach their final destination, and this isn't it."

Gabriella and Ripcord were nodding in agreement with Duke. Gen. Hawk let out a sigh, there was no use arguing with them. Looking at the three of them he relented, this was a battle that he knew he wasn't going to win. Turning he started to walk away, calling for them to follow over his shoulder.

Gabriella wasn't happy first her team gets attacked on route, a lot of good men died, then some covert team tells them that they're taking over. Something about this whole thing smelled fishy. Listening to Gen. Hawk explain the Joes and their mission. Nodding along with the conversation, Gabriella instead ran all the ways that their mission could have been compromised and she knew it wasn't on her side.

Gen. Hawk led them into the command center and was told that McCullen was on the line. Gabriella watched as the hologram asshole berated her team and snarled when he accused them of failing their mission. Gabriella was fuming, she knew somehow that McCullen was the reason why their mission had failed and she didn't even need Breaker to confirm it.

The guys argued with Gen. Hawk for a moment and Gabriella waited for it to end while trying to regulate her breathing, her ribs were still killing her. Gabriella looked up at the screen when Breaker told them about the image he was running through the system to identify the woman who had gotten the drop on them. Gabriella watched Duke and Ripcord whisper to each other when the picture came up on the big screen. Gen. Hawk was overly smug when he informed them that he had now been given the warheads. Gabriella sighed when she heard the news now they were going to be sent home and that was something she didn't want. At least that's what she thought until dropped a bomb shell.

"I know her," Duke called out. "Or at least I knew her four years ago."

Duke pulled a small photo out of his pocket and showed it to the Gen.

"Back then she was a blond." Duke looked Gen. Hawk square in the eye. "You said that knowledge is half the battle and I can you everything about her up till four years ago."

Gabriella stepped closer to Duke as he told the Gen. about 'Ana Lewis', she noticed that she wasn't the only one. Snake and Scarlett moved closer and Gabriella resisted the urge to lean against the ninja. The pain was getting to her and standing and talking where taking a large toll on her.

Once Duke was finished talking to Hawk, he dismissed them to rest before they started training tomorrow. Gabriella was glad that they were heading off to sleep, tonight had been painful and her reserves were completely out, she may not even be able to reach her bunk. Gabriella gritted her teeth as she followed Duke and Ripcord to the bunks, her ribs were rubbing and shooting pain radiated through her.

Snake Eyes was following them as Heavy Duty showed them to their rooms. Barely paying attention to Duty snarky remarks about them blackmailing their way onto the team, instead he was watching Gabriella. Snake knew that her broken ribs had to be killing her, he was waiting for her to show a real sign of the pain that she was feeling. He could see the slight limp and the way she was almost dragging her pack down the corridor.

Making a quick decision he tapped her on the shoulder and motioned at her pack when he caught her attention. Snake Eyes could see the pain and fatigue in her eyes. Snake was also looking into her strange blue/green eyes, they were the color of the Caribbean Sea. Snake almost missed the small nod that she gave and the sign of thanks. Snake made sure to walk just to the side of Gabriella incase she finally gave into the pain but he wasn't all that surprised when she made it all the way to her room before she collapsed.

Snake dropped her bag and caught her before she hit the floor and set her down on the bed. Gabriella opened her eyes as Snake poked her, she would have laughed but it hurt too much just to breath. When Snake Eyes caught her watching him he quickly started to sign to her, question after question flew from his hands. Gabriella thought that it was cute how worried he was.

"Snake Eyes your talking to fast,"

Gabriella said hoping that he would stop but all he did was pull out a pad of paper and write out a list of questions. Reading over the list shoved into her face she answered him out loud.

"No, I don't need to go to the med lab. Yes, I'm sure." Gabriella could tell by his body language that he didn't believe her. "I have a faster metabolism and recovery factor, see."

Gabriella pulled off her top and bandages to showed Snake Eyes. The skin which only hour before had been a horrible mix of black and purple was now a dark yellow and green, the color of healed bruises. Grabbing his gloved hand she pressed it to the broken ribs and he could feel that they were recovering quicker than normal. Snake Eyes tilted his head in question, he'd never heard of broken ribs healing so fast.

"I don't know myself why I heal so fast, all I know is that I always have." Gabriella looked into the visor covering Snake's eyes. "I don't want this getting out. I don't want to become a science experiment."

Snake Eyes nodded and made the sign of an 'x' over is heart. Gabriella chuckled at the gesture, and she saw his shoulders shake in silent laughter. The pain from her still healing ribs made her hiss. Closing her eyes against the wave of pain she waited for it to ebb. Opening her eyes she saw Snake holding the ace bandage and nodded her head.

"Just let me go shower real quick," Gabriella slowly stood up and took out all her weapons placing them on a small table, except one small knife, before she walked into the bathroom.

As she started the shower Gabriella stripped the rest of her clothes off, she used the knife to cut off her sports bra, and stepped in. Gabriella relished the hot water beating her sore and tired body. Using the soap and washcloth in the shower she scrubbed herself as best as she could. While she was shampooing her hair she looked down and saw the dirt and blood in the bottom of the shower and sighed. This job was horrible on her body and soul, she knew what she was getting into when she signed up but the reality of it was draining.

After she rinsed all of the shampoo out she quickly conditioned her hair and let it hang over her shoulder and let the water relax her tense muscles. Once they started to relax she washed out the conditioner and grabbed a towel outside the shower. Wrapping it around her body she pulled her hair over her shoulder and twisted the excess water out.

Walking over to the mirror Gabriella wiped away the condensation and opened the towel to look over her battered body. She touched the old scars and remembered, across her stomach was a long scar, her left shoulder had a through and through bullet wounds that were covered by tattoos. Lost in thought Gabriella jumped and clutched the towel back around her when there was a knock on the door. Opening it slightly she saw that it was Snake Eyes, he was holding a black t-shirt and a pair of black boxers. Gabriella remembered that she didn't have a change of clothes.

"Thank you," Gabriella said while grabbing the clothes. "I'll be out in a minute."

Gabriella saw Snake Eyes nod and closed the door. Dropping the towel she quickly slipped into the outfit she was positive belonged to Snake. The shirt enveloped her and reached to the middle of her thighs. Pulling on the boxers was a challenge, she couldn't really bend over so she sat on the closed toilet to get them on. Once she had them up she laughed, they were a little too big and she had to roll the waistband to keep them up.

Almost as soon as she had gotten into the shower he noticed that Gabriella hadn't grabbed any clothes he'd raced to his room across the hall and grabbed a shirt and a pair of boxers. When he had knocked on the door, to hand her the clothes, he wasn't prepared for the affect she would have on him. Snake Eyes sank onto Gabriella's bed thoughts of her in a room full of steam and covered only by her hair and towel filled his mind. He knew she was attractive but with her pink from the hot water and long blond hair darkened by the water hanging over her shoulder, Snake Eyes was glad that his pants were loose, she had looked like an angel. Snake Eyes hadn't missed seeing the tattoo on her shoulder with the kanji for strength covering a scar, he made a mental note to ask her about it in the future.

Snake Eyes gulped when the door opened again and Gabriella walked out. Something primal awoke in his chest at the sight of her in his clothes. When the feeling passed he smiled behind his mask at the sight of her small from in his oversized shirt, she looked almost fragile, and her long blond hair in a braid. Gabriella came to stand in front of him and waited. Snake Eyes gave a mental shake of his head when he remember that he was supposed to rewrap her ribs not stare at her. He stood quickly stood up and grabbed the bandage.

Gabriella raised the too big shirt as far as was decent and grabbed the end of the wrap. She sucked in a breathe as Snake Eyes gloved fingers grazed her ribs and back as he circled her, Gabriella basked in the attention. Since her mom had died she been the only one to see to her wounds, besides doctors with cold impersonal hands, and the feel of warm friendly hands was amazing. Once he was done Snake Eyes moved back and watched his shirt fall over her again, and the warm smile on her face. Snake Eyes watched as she tried to fight a yawn, instead he moved her towards the bed.

"_Goodnight," _ Snake Eyes signed as she laid down on the bed. Snake pulled the blanket over her and noticed she had already fallen asleep. _"Angel."_

Pulling up his mask enough to expose his lips Snake Eyes couldn't resist bending down and kissing her hair before he left the room. Back in the safety of his own room Snake quickly pulled off his mask, visor and gloves. Walking into his bathroom he looked at his reflection and stared at the scar from the corner his right eye to his jaw. Shaking his head instead he brought his fingers to his lips and smiled at the feeling left over. Gabriella's hair had been so silky and smell of cherry blossoms.

Snake Eyes quickly hoped into his shower and washed away the sweat that built up. Drying off he headed straight to bed, tomorrow was going to start early and end late. He and the rest of the Alpha team were going to be putting Duke, Ripcord and Gabriella through a gauntlet of tests. Luckily he had been assigned Gabriella and he wasn't going to go easy on her, because he knew if he did she would hurt him. Nope tomorrow was going to be very trying and exciting, for him at least.

SESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESE SESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESESE SESESESESE

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update but here it is the newest chapter. Enjoy!


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